2021 GameTimeCT Girls Basketball MVP: Shailyn Pinkney, East Hartford
There is some bad news for girls basketball teams in the CCC. East Hartford guard Shailyn...
There is some bad news for girls basketball teams in the CCC.
East Hartford guard Shailyn Pinkney does not feel like she played her best this past season and is vowing to come back next season better than ever.
Her not playing her best will come as a surprise to the coaches in the CCC and across the state who overwhelmingly cited the junior guard as the best player in Connecticut this winter.
She was so impressive that Pinkney has been named the 2021 GameTimeCT Girls Basketball MVP.
GameTimeCT First Team All-State
“I was surprised when I heard I won MVP,” Pinkney said. “I felt like this year wasn’t my best year. I felt like I could have done a lot more. Starting right now, I am set on working harder for next year. I want to have a good senior year and help our team reach our goals in our league and in the state tournament.”Pinkney averaged 18 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals this season.
In her career she has surpassed 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 225 assists and 150 steals while being named First-Team All-CCC and CHSCA All-State three times, as well as making the GameTimeCT All-State First-Team for the second-straight season.
She also excels in the classroom, making the All-Academic Team all three years she has been at East Hartford.
“There is what makes her good and what makes her great,” East Hartford coach Matt Rondinone said. “The good part is that she is one of the best players in the state of Connecticut. What makes her great, that people might not always see, is her humble approach to the game. If she’s not playing well, nobody will know she’s not playing well because she has so many parts to her game. When she’s not scoring then she will have 7 assists and 6 rebounds and play good traditional man-to-man defense. Against East Catholic, she sat most of the first half with foul trouble and she’s sitting on the bench cheering her teammates and supporting them. The respect she has for the game and the appreciation she has for her teammates and having a team-first mentality is something that has always stuck with her.”
Rondinone is not shy about placing Pinkney among the best girls players in the state in recent years.
GameTimeCT All-State Lineups
“There have been some great basketball players to come through Connecticut in the last years and she has embraced that she is one since she was a freshman,” Rondinone said. “If we had a 20-game season this year she would have broken our school scoring mark which is over 2,000 points. She can do what she needs to do when she needs to do it. Teams focus on her a lot, but she can score at all three levels. As good as she is, there is still so much room for improvement.”Pinkney still has one more year at East Hartford, but has already committed to playing for Seton Hall in the Big East.
Pinkney grew up playing in the East Hartford Parks and Recreation League before joining the Connecticut Spirit travel program where she has played since fifth grade.
Pinkney loves the game and is thankful for all the opportunities the game has given her.
“My favorite thing about basketball is that it is different from the other sports,” Pinkney said. “The game has a swag to it and allows you to express yourself in ways you can’t in other sports. It’s hard to explain but I just love playing.”
